NDP calls for moratorium on genetically-modified animals

OTTAWA – Recent revelations in Maclean’s magazine about two seafood import companies selling genetically modified salmon to Quebec and Ontario retailers are spreading alarm among Canadian consumers. In response, the NDP is calling on the Liberal government to impose a moratorium on the sale and production of genetically modified animals.

“When choosing what to eat, Canadians have no way of knowing if they are buying genetically modified products”, said MP Murray Rankin (Victoria). “The government is complicit in the industry’s lack of transparency.”

The arrival in 2017 of 5 tonnes of transgenic salmon on the Canadian market raised many questions among Canadians. The federal government is currently refusing to impose mandatory labeling of GM food products.

“Faced with the Liberal government’s inaction about the labeling of GMOs, we are calling for a moratorium on the sale and the production of genetically modified animals,” said MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault (Sherbrooke). “This culture of secrecy must end. It’s our health and environment that are at stake.”

Canada is the only country in the world to approve the sale of genetically modified salmon.